Method of making containers and packaging goods



Oct. 9, 1934. F. E. BICKFORD METHOD OF MAKING CONTAINERS -AND PACKAGING GOODS Filed July 6, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet l w 0 F m m m m 0 "w Oct. 9, 1934. BICKFORD 1,976,211

METHOD OF MAKING CONTAINERS AND PACKAGING GOODS Filed July 6, 1952 KSheets-Sheet 2 WORNEYS Oct. 9, 1934. F. E. BICKFORD 1,976,211

1 METHOD OF MAKING CONTAINERS AND PACKAGING Goons INVENTOR Fxrofr/ckffic/rfazo W M. A" RNEYS I gatekeeper. 9, 1934 ou ire!) [STATES e METHOD DF MAKING CONTAINERS AND PACKAGING GOODS Frederick E. Bickford, Rye, N.-Y.f Application July 6, 1932, Serial N0, 621,006

13 Claims.

- This invention relates to a methodfof making containers-or packages from sheets of cellulose derivatives. such as cellulose acetate; cellulose nitrate and the like, or from flexible cellulose materials, and has for its object a method of making' containers and packaging goods therein.

-A' further obj'ectof the invention includes the provision of a succession of steps whereby the containers are made in sequence and filled and sealed as a continuous operation.

It is a further" purpose of my invention to form .asuccession of. containers, preferably although not necessarily, of tray-shaped construction, and

fill the, same either from above. or by bringing the .tray or container overthe'goods assembled in a package, that is, filling the container from be-' eath. and in either ,case closing the container by vacuum seating the closing sheet in position. In otherwords, the formed open container and the assembledpackage of goods are moved in unison and brought together so that the goods are packaged and sealed in the container as a continuous operation.

Another object includes the steps of vacuum handling" the container fdrming sheets or mate-- rial atcertainstages in the process of making the containers, and during certain phases of packaging 1the goods; By vacuum handling the container forming sheets or the containers and other parts is meant that the sheets or the containers or other parts are attached to manipulating mechanism and are held thereby suction due to the evacuation, that is the art of vacuumizing suitable chambers and channels-having ports to effect a vacuum pull on said sheets or other parts, and

thereby firmly holding the same while vacuum is maintained. Obviously when the vacuum is broken the hold. of the manipulating mechanism I specifically stated above will appear hereinafter.

- it is supplied with suitable reinforcing or tear-X is also broken and the sheet, tray, or other part is released.

Other objects and featufesof advantage not As'a specific application of-my invention the containers are made from flexible transparent sheet material; such as cellulose acetate, cellulose nitrate, or other cellulose derivatives orcel- .lulose compounds. The sheet material or cone tainer .forming material maybe supplied or fed from a roll of suitable width and will, for conveniencafbe designated as the base or container forming sheet. As this sheet isfed from its roll ing strips which function for reinforcing the container or package and at the same time serve also as opening strips when the package is to be opened. 4 In general, the reinforcing and tearing strips are somewhat heavier than the base sheet and may be the same. or different materials. These reinforcing and tearing strips may be laminated or otherwise adhered or welded to-the base sheet.

When these serve as tearing strips for opening the package they are embedded or pressed into said sheet to suchan extent as to make an indentation 6 on-the surface thereof to thus form weakening lines or tearing lines for opening the container.

package to thus afiord attaching surface'to which a sealing sheet may be adhered, welded, vacuum: sealed, or otherwise attached. The next step provides the base sheet with cuts extending transv versely and across the said base sheet a suificient distance to allow the ends formed by these cuts to be. turned up and form, in effect, a succession of trays which are held together by the uncut margins and the lateral reinforcing and tearing strips.

Beforethe cut ends are turned up transverse reinforcing strips with turned up tabs are applied for reinforcing the cut-edges, and these tabs are adhered to the strengthening and reinforcing strips when the sides are turned into position. The sides may be turned up into position by any suitable means such as hinged .vacuum plates, vacuum fingers" or other instrumentalities. By turning up the sides and the ends of the base 955 sheet .a tray is formed which is one of several trays connected by the two tearing or reinforcing strips and the uncut strip of the base sheet, as stated above. Obviously the trayforming ends and the lateral sides may be turned in unison and'thetabs fastened, or said parts may be turned in succession. The tray may now be filled with any desired commodity orcommodities arranged in packets and closed by turning over the lateral edges and laminating thereto the cover sheet. A succes- 'sion of completed packages may be thus formed which are connected by the uncut base sheet and the reinforcing or tearing strips. The containers I or packages are now arranged consecutively and united, as stated above, along the lateral edges or at other appropriate positions.

In cases where the package is small and fiat the tearing strips are placed along the lateral edges of the base sheet. .Where the containers are of larger extent reinforcing and tearing strips may be applied also at intermediate positions so as to form reinforcing ribs. when, however, it is desired to deliver single containers or packages, the tearing and reinforcing strips are cut intermediate the containers or packages and said strips are turned in on the edges thereof to form tabs for starting the opening tear. It is evident that single packaged units or units in multiple may be thus provided.

In the multiple unit the intervening sections of tearing and reinforcing strips are compressed in V-shape to form close coupled connections between the units which form the multiple container. In this manner I may build up any number of containers or packages for packing in cartons and the like.

The reinforcing strips and the closing sheets may be applied in any suitable manner, such as vacuum sealing, weld adhering, with orwithout addition of suitable adhesives or solvents. The sheets may be vacuum sealed or united by atmospheric pressures through vacuum withdrawal and use of a solvent between the sheets, or they may be laminated by heat welding, by rolling or otherwise to' thus firmly unite the sheets or strips.

In the form described above the container is packed with the goodsgwhen the opening is in upturned position, that is the succession of trays are filled with the opening upwards.

- Under certain conditions, however, it may be desirable to form the material into packages outside of the tray or trays and fill the trays with the formed package. One way of doing this is by turning the tray over onto thematerial to be packaged, that is by bringing together the package and the container in a particular manner andsealing by vacuum-sealing the closing sheet thereon. In this manner the succession of trays is brought over and filled from below with the material to be packaged. The filled trays are then advanced and carried forward or vacuum handled by suitable means such as vacuum plates or vacuum fingers to be closed. For this purpose the sides of the filled container may be turned under and the closing sheet applied from the bottom thereof in the manner described for the upturned trays above, that is by vacuum sealing or welding the closing sheet tothe turned under sides of the tray.

If the material to be packaged is of such nature that the same may be separated, such as cigarettes for example, cigars, pencils, paint sticks, and the like, I provide partitions for the vunits, that is the cigarettes or the like. These partions are so arranged that they form compartments for each unit, or for alternate units if desired. Said partitions may be formed by vacuum seating a sheet of cellulose material, or a cellulose derivative, over partition walls, fins or other temporary supports, then filling the compartments to form a package and uniting the package and the tray, and withdrawing the partitions, walls or fins, and then closing the tray as above. In other words the compartments are filled with the units and the tray is turned over onto the units as said units are formed into packages. The filled trays are then moved in consecutive order and closed in the manner just described. I

For some purposes a wire properly coated with a cellulose derivative or a cellulose material corresponding to the base sheet, may be used for the reinforcing and tearing strip. A coated wire thus used may be covered with a fabric which may be impregnated with a like material to adhere to the base sheet and serve for reinforcing the container or for opening the same.

I will now describe the annexed drawings in which,

1", 1*, 1, 1 illustrate somewhat diagrammatically the successive steps of forming containers and packaging goods therein;

Fig. l shows vacuum forming plates.

Fig. 2 shows a modified form of a packet forming device;

Fig. 3 illustrates one way of vacuum laminating two sheets together;

Fig. 4 shows a modified form of container in the shape of a tray, and open to receive goods;

Fig. 5 shows a portion of the base sheet with the tearing (or reinforcing) strip;

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 0 Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 shows another form of reinforcing and tearing member;

Fig. 8 shows the same applied;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of a cigarette assembling plate;

Fig. 10 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 11 is a plan .view of two cigarette packages joined by the end tearing strips;

Fig. 12 is a side view thereof;

Fig. 13 is an end view of a single cigarette package; and

Fig. 14 shows the invention applied to a carton or multiple package container.

The same reference characters apply to like parts throughout the several views;

Referring now to the drawings the base sheet 10 is taken from a roll 12 and united with the reinforcing or tearing strips 13, 13 in any suitable manner, as by vacuum sealing or otherwise adhering the strips to the base sheet at 14, 14, as by a solvent, or by heat welding. The strips are embedded in the base sheet by suitable means as rolls 15 to thereby form tearing lines 16, 16 (Fig. 6) in the base sheet, and are substantially parallel to each other and to the lateral edges of the base sheet. The width of the sheet is such that it will cover the height of the packages plus twice its depth, and the turn-over edges. Thus for a cigarette package the distance between the in: ner edges 1'7, 17of the tearing strips is equal to the length of the cigarettes to be packaged and the width of thetwo tear strips 13, 13, which incidentally is the depth of the package, plus the width of the two turn-over edges 18, 18. The tum-over edges may vary in width from mere marginal widths, as shown, to widths sufiicient to cover half or more of the;-package.

The base sheet is next provided with T-cuts 19 and 20 inside strips 13 to outline a tray, and the marginal cuts 21 and 22. The T-cuts are reinforced with strips 23 and 24 having upturned tabs 25. These strips are supplied by the die and adhered to sheet 10 adiacent the T-cuts when these cuts are made. In other words the cuts and strips are provided by any suitable means, such as die 26 cooperating with forming plate 27, or the hinged vacuum plate 27'. The strips are of any suitable material, such ascardboard, or heavier cellulose material, and may be welded, glued, or

have blades to make the cuts, and may be cut out above the blades to permit the application of strips 23 and 24. The hinged vacuum plate 27. may consist of a body plate 28 and hinged por-v tions 29 on either end of said body plate. These hinged portion's 29 'are adapted to be tumed'u-p so as to turn thereinforced out edge portions and reinforcing strips 23 or 24 into tray position, andfastening the ends 25 and 31 which are turned up simultaneously with the end pieces or immediately thereafter. The hinged vacuum forming plate isprovided with openings 32 in the body thereof, and on the hinged wings throughwhich suctionpr vacuum pull is exerted, as to firmly hold the base sheet and the turn parts.v Suction -is provided by any v suitable means suchas passage 33 which may be attached to suitable vacuumizing means such as, a pump (not shown). I

The container thus formed is tray shaped, and is ready to be positioned so as to receivethe goods. preferably in prepared packages. The trays may be filled from the top, as shown in Fig. 1, or

they maybe filled from the bottom. as shown in Fig. 1 In the case where thetrays are filled from the top, I prefer to maintain the said trays, on thehinged vacuum plate so as to firmly hold the same in positionduring the filling and closing operations.

The packaged goods'may be of various types, and for the specific instant I have shown a package 34 filled'with handkerchiefs in connection with the steps carried out as illustrated in Fig.- 1.

tray in any suitable manner,.such as is Obviously, in place of halndkerchiefs other commodities might be used. Thus if cigarettes are to be packaged the same may be supplied to 'thc illustrated by the belt feed in Fig. l for example.

After the packet has been deposited in the tray the same may be closed by turning in the turnover edges 18,, l8 -and-folding the same onto the goods by any suitable means, as members 30 and 31 of the forming plate 2'7. The hinged vacuum plate may now be replaced by lateral gripping or vacuum fingers 36 (Fig. 1), preferably one on each side. These fingers may be connected to a vacuum pump so as'to' grip the packages through suction. Theivacuum fingers are moved by suit hating the closing sheet 37 thereover.

[ages are now ready rapidly and able meanslwhereby the packages continue to be moved forward and are closed by vacuum lami- The packfor packing into cartons or for other purposes..i The end tabs 38 of the tearing, strip 13 may be: folded in as shown in Fig.11; or they may be cut and bent down'(see Fig. 12) so as to be available for tearing strips on the package to befopened; As stated heretofore, by, vacuum-seating I mean that the closing sheet is sealed onto the package by withdrawal of atmos'pheric pressure from beneath the package and the sheet. The air is withdrawn by a vacuum pump connected with tube 39 which .withdraws the air from beneath the sheet 3'7 at 40. Tube 41 is utilized to'supply a suitable sheet solvent or adhesive to the marginal. edges of the cover at or adhesive'fro'm the point Thisarrangement provides means for efiiciently closing the package. regardless of whether itha's narrow margins or has full surface margins; or whether the marginal drawing excess solvent at 44.

' edges-consist of a sheet 45, as is shownin Fig. 3.

Where it is desired to invert the trays onto the prepared package of goods,.as the'case shown to the longitudinal sides 30 is removed by the same away from the package, thus'the weakfor the purpose of withsothat each sectorwill accommodate a tray and will turn the same over onto'the prepared pack-' age such as a package of cigarettes shown at 47. The cigarettes may be assembled into packet form in any suitable manner and' for the purpose of illustrationis' shown by a conveyor belt 48 delivering anumber of cigarettes 49, preferably to compartments 50 in the'forming plate .51. This forming plate isconnect'ed'to a vacuum pump by suitable connections 52 so as: to provide vacu-- um pull for seating the partitioning strip 53 between movingpartition members 'su'ch'as fins 54.

The partitioning strip is suppliedso asto hold the cigarettes in' their individual positions as the same are used. It also serves as a means for attaching the closing sheet and'the'refore reinforces "the package. In some instances I find it advisable to vacuum seat the partitioning sheet: in alternate chambers, as is shown in Fig.2, In that case alternate chambers are filled before the vacuum sheet'is seated and the intermediate charm.

bers are filled with cigarettes as heretofore shown in Fig. 1 The rate of feeding the partitioning strip and the tension under- Whi'chit is suppliedmay be controlled by any suitable means sueh as a vacuum drag 55. 1 i

Insome instances I find it advantageous to provide means whereby the ends of the'cigarcttes or other similar articles such as cigars, paint-tubes and thelike, are supported duringthe filling and closing of the lateral sides of the tray there over. Insuch cases I foreshorten the fin plates 54 a distance equal to the turn-over edge of .the,

'aackage of cigarettes." I then providea movable wedge 56 which is slottedat 5'7 so as to permit the same to be moved inwardly when the marginal edge is turned under, audit isdesired to remove the forming plate.- This step may be performed at any suitable place along the line indicatedby' I the succession of trays in Fig. 1 and iminedi-- ately after the containers and packages-are brought together as shown at e Fig. 1 The above, orby-other; suitable means such as' vacuum fingers 58 which ar provided to grip the sides of fore by vacuum-seating mechanismshown at f. The vacuum sealing step is the same as describedhereinbefore in connection with'the closing ofpackages' or vacuum sealing two sheets together and will therefore not be repeated here. Packages thus formed may be sealed as single units, or in multiple, as shown in Fig. 11 where two units are joined by the tearing strip. In cases where open the package the tearing strip it is desired to.

taking hold offtab 38- and pulling ened ledges 16, 16 come away and leave a mar-, ginal opening in the package. v

If it is desired to-seal the packages. in multiple, they may be encased inla'suitable casing such priate positions. ,In place .of the fiat tearing strips just defined, it is obvious that round tearing stripsmay be supplied in the shape of a wire packages are now ready to be sealed. This may beaccomplished by turning the lateral edges 18 under by side wings of the forming plate as noted 12s the trays and move the same forward. The step J of sealing by vacuumeseating the closing strip onto the'pac'kage may now be carried out as be 60 (Fig. 7), which may be coated by a layer of cellulose material 61, similar to that of which the sheet is made, and protected by a coating of fabric 62 to prevent the same from injuring the sheet 10 in making up the package and handling the same. Such a coated and fabric covered wire may be also used to reinforce the packages.

As illustrated in Fig. 8, the ends of said wire 63 and 64 overlap at 65 and form an opening strip for the container. a

In the modified open container shown in Fig.

4, the body 65 is enlarged for special packaging.-

turning up said strengthened parts and the lateral 'edges of the sheet and fastening the same in their upturned position to form a tray-shaped container, then filling said container, folding the lateral flaps thereover, and sealing a top sheet thereover.

2. The method of making containers and packaging goods which comprises providing a moving tray forming sheet with reinforcing and tearing strips disposed substantially in parallel with the lateral edges of said sheet, then making incisions in said sheet to outline the form of the tray and applying strengthening strips with turned up tabs for reinforcing the transversely cut edges,

then turning up the lateral sides and the strengthened transverse portions and fastening the same in their upturned position, then filling said trays and turning the lateral sides over the filled portion and finally seating a closing sheet thereover.

3. The method of making containers and packaging goods which comprises impressing a moving sheet with reinforcing and tearing strips and uniting said reinforcing and tearing strips to said sheet in substantially parallel relation with each other, then co-ordinating said moving sheet with a vacuum forming plate and impressing incisions in said sheet upon the forming plate and applying reinforcing cross strips with turned up tabs, then shaping the cut and strengthened sheet into tray-shape and adhering the tabs, then filling the same with goods to be packaged, and then closing the lateral edges of said container over, the packaged goods and sealing a coversheet thereover.

4. The method of making containers and packaging goods which comprises impressing a moving sheet with reinforcing tearing strips and embedding said reinforcing tearing strips to said sheet in substantially parallel relation with each other, then shaping the sheet to form a container and holding said sheet in position by suction while the same is shaped into a container, and is filled and sealed.

5. The method of making containers and packaging goods according to claim 3, characterized in that the cover sheet is sealed by being laminated onto the container.

6. The method of making containers and packaging goods which comprises providing a. moving tray forming sheet with reinforcing and tearing strips disposed substantially in parallel with the lateral edges of said sheet, then forming said sheet into a succession of connected trays, filling the trays with goods to be packaged, then closing the lateral edges of the trays over the goods and laminating a sealing sheetthereover. I

7. The method of making containers and packaging goods according to claim 6 characterized in that the containers are held in position by suction.

8. The method of making containers and packaging goods which comprises providing a moving tray forming sheet with reinforcing and tearing strips disposed substantially in parallel with the lateral edges of said sheet, then forming said sheet into a succession of connected trays, filling the same by inverting said trays over successive packets and in-folding the lateral edges and then laminating a sealing sheet thereto.-

9. The method of making containers and packaging goods according to claim 8, characterized in that the packets and trays are held in position by suction.

10. The method of making containers and packaging goods according to claim 8, characterized in that the containers are filled from below and sealed in inverted position.

11. The method of packaging cigarettes which comprises vacuum seating a sheet of cellulose material to form partitioned chambers, then filling said chambers with cigarettes and compressing said cigarettes laterally to form an assembly for packets, then assembling said cigarettes in containers and finally sealing said filled containers.

12. The method of packaging cigarettes which comprises forming a sheet of a cellulose derivative into corrugations and filling said corrugations with individual cigarettes to form an assembly orpacket, inserting said assembly or packet in a container, folding the sides of the container thereover, and sealing a cover sheet thereon to close the container.

13. The method of packaging cigarettes and the like according to claim 12, characterized in that the cigarettes and the like have their ends supported while the container sides are folded 1 thereover for sealing.

. FREDERICK E. BICKFORD. 

